CanDo Kiddo Blog

It can be tricky to include the sense of smell (or the olfactory sense) in babies' play before they're eating solids. But as I create fall play activities for Rowan, I don't want to miss out on the distinct smells of fall. Here's how you, too, can include delicious fall scents into your baby's play with DIY Scented Sensory Rattles.

You'll need plastic travel bottles with pop top lids. The pop top lid is crucial because it will allow scents to escape while keeping swallowable items safely in the bottles. I got these at Target for about a buck each!

Next add cinnamon sticks, whole Allspice, and whole cloves to your bottles. You could keep one spice per bottle or combine them for a scented blend.

Finally, add rice, lentils or dried beans to your bottles to make them into rattles and provide friction to release the smell through the pop top lid as your little one shakes the bottles.

This activity can be used even with babies too little to grasp and rattle the bottles themselves. Try shaking the rattles on either side of baby's head to encourage sound localizing and head turning in the first weeks and months of your little one's life.